Project Star: Legend of the Border
by Solknight371st
Summary: Konata and the gang are asked to beta test a new game. After being sucked into the game, they must fight for their lives against powerful foes with unknown goals. Can they survive long enough to escape? Contains references and characters from other fandoms Constructive criticism appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Trapped

The city streets were bustling with activity. Lines of cars packed the streets as drivers hurried home to spend their evenings. The sidewalks were crowded with businessmen and women and shoppers heading to the local stores. Among the mass of people were four girls wearing school outfits, looking out-of-place in this business-heavy atmosphere.

"Are you sure you know where you're going Konata?" asked the pigtailed girl as she eyed the buildings they were passing suspiciously.

Her only response was a small chuckle from the smaller girl, her signature cat-like smile never leaving her face.

"I am sure she knows where she is going Kagami-san." stated the bespectacled girl next to her. "Izumi-san wouldn't lead us anywhere without a good reason, right?"

Sighing to herself she had to agree with her friend. While Konata Izumi had a rather interesting world-view, she had enough common sense to know when something was wrong or didn't seem right. Broken out of her stupor by her smaller friend's cry of success, she suddenly began reconsidering her previous opinion of her upon seeing their destination.

The building the four girls were staring up at was a complete wreck. The paint on the outside of the building was starting to chip away and the sign hanging over the door was so faded that the only thing that could be made out was the building number. Furthermore, the building looked completely different from the surrounding buildings. The neighboring buildings seemed to tower over the smaller one and seemed to be compressing it, as it was much thinner than the others.

"You can't be serious." Said Kagami with a dejected voice wondering just what she had gotten herself into. Her confusion echoed by both Tsukasa and Miyuki. "What are we doing at a place like this Konata?"

"This." With out another word, Konata produced a piece of paper from her school bag that looked like it had been printed off her computer. The paper seemed to be asking for volunteers for what looked like beta testing.

"Beta testing?" questioned Tsukasa looking at the paper in her friends' hands.

Nodding her head, Konata answered. "Right. The company wants average players to beta test their new game before it comes out in a few months. It's only for three days."

Ignoring Kagami's outburst at this new information, Konata turned expectantly to her other friends for their answers, only to receive another question from the younger twin.

"What is beta testing?" asking that, Tsukasa turned to Miyuki as was natural when asking a question.

"Beta testing is when a product goes through its second testing stages usually with the assistance of people outside of its creation so that it can be given a "real-world" test. Is that right?" Nobody was shocked when Miyuki answered a given question due to her reputation as a living dictionary, but it was still strange that she answered what was considered a technical question.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Konata confirmed her statement. "They are even willing to pay us for our help."

This information was enough to catch Kagami's attention again. _They would be willing to pay us for playing a game?_ The thought made the idea a bet more appealing for her.

"Ah, Oneechan this is great. You've been saving up money for something haven't you? For Kona-" Tsukasa was unable to continue speaking as her older sister had quickly closed her hands over her mouth, her face red in embarrassment.

Ignoring the soft chuckles behind her, Kagami simply flipped her hair over her shoulder and started towards the door, her cheeks still burning. "Well, let's go since we're already here."

* * *

Whatever Kagami was expecting when she entered the building, what she saw through all of those expectations out the window. The inside of the building, in stark contrast to the outside, looked almost brand new. The walls looked to be freshly painted white while the floorboards had been polished to a shine. Strangest of all were what looked to be several rooms with sliding door entrances leading up hallway and around the corner.

"Welcome. How may I help you?" The sudden voice snapped the party out of their daze. Standing in front of them was a woman dressed in a brown business suit with her hair tied up in a bun. A typical businesswoman noted Kagami, but she began to wonder just where she came from.

Stepping forward, Konata produced the piece of paper and started to hand it to the woman. The woman then clasped her hands together and asked "Oh, you are all here for the testing correct? Wonderful. Please, this way. We have an available room at the end of the hall." Motioning with her hand the lady turned around and began guiding the group towards the far room.

Walking down the hall, Kagami heard voices coming from several of the other rooms and could see silhouettes of various people sitting around what looked to be computers. From the number of silhouettes she could see and voices she could hear, there had to be a couple dozen people here already.

"There are a lot of people here for the test aren't there?" inquired Miyuki. After receiving an affirmative response from their guide she then asked. "And all of them are being paid to help with this game?"

"…Correct…" After her response, the group finally made it to their room.

Tsukasa pulled open the doors to show a rather cramped room with a large table holding four computers, chairs, game controllers, and 4 large visors that looked like something out of a science fiction anime. The only other object of any note was a large window at the back with the blinds closed so tightly that only a small amount of light came through.

"Wait, is this an actual virtual reality headset?" asked Konata. "I didn't know we had something like this yet."

With the same smile she had worn the entire time, the lady answered, "Yes. Our company has put a lot of research and development time into its creation but would like to keep it a secret until the game has debuted. That is also why the casting for beta testers was done this way."

Seemingly agreeing with the explanation, everyone nodded their heads as their guide began explaining what would be happening during their test period.

"Over three days we would like you to play through three scenarios. The first day will be a quest to find an artifact within a temple. The second quest will be a treasure hunt within a cave area. And the third day will have you fighting a boss character in a field." Pausing for confirmation, she then continued. "After each quest is done we would like you to submit any concerns, ideas, or even just praise on the game. Now then, if you would please log in and create your characters we can begin."

* * *

The large marbled doors swung open to reveal a circular park littered with various small shops and vendors. Various people were walking around the area, going to shops, talking to other characters, or just sitting around the water fountain in the center. Miyuki Takara was not someone who played video games often so she did not know if this was how most of them looked nowadays. For her, it didn't even look as if it was a game. Everything looked so real that she could even make out the brickwork in the buildings beyond the park. It felt so real that she could almost feel the wind or smell the grass and trees.

Walking through the area Miyuki reached a set of trees where she saw two girls standing. Recognizing them as the Hiragi twins she rushed over to them only to receive a sharp pain in her leg from where she had kicked the table. Collecting herself, she nervously tapped the controller to move forward only to be passed by her much smaller friend who had been beside her.

"Yo. Sorry we're late." cried Konata walking up to their friends. "This is pretty cool huh?"

While the twins were responding to the smaller girl, Miyuki took the time to look at how everyone looked. The costumes were very detailed to the point that she could almost make out what material the clothing was made out of.

Tsukasa was wearing a white robe adorned with various jewels and symbols that she couldn't understand. In her hands was a simple oak staff that spiraled inwards at the end with a chain hanging from the inside of the spiral. She was also wearing an ornate yellow headband rather than her usual ribbon.

Her sister was wearing a rather tight black body suit covered with various pieces of leather armor with leather straps on her arms and legs. By her side was a long wooden spear with several strips of paper hanging from it. The piece of her outfit that caught her eye was her hair though. Rather than her normal pigtails, or as Konata liked to call them "twintails", her hair was braided and held together with a purple ribbon at the end.

Izumi-san's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "Oh, you chose the spear class Kagami? It suits you." Her comment making Kagami's cheeks redden somewhat.

"It's a Halberdier class, I think."

"And Tsukasa is?"

"Ah, I'm a Magician." answered Tsukasa, smiling proudly. Izumi-san's response however was simply a worried look.

"It's fine." Said Kagami. "We're all in the same room anyway." She waved off the smaller girls worries in reference to a joke or something that Miyuki was not aware of making her feel slightly left out.

"What about you Miyuki-chan?" asked Tsukasa as she walked up to greet her friend.

"Oh, I'm a …um. What is it again Izumi-san?" Blushing in embarrassment, she turned to her friend for help.

"She's a Blademaster. I think it suits her."

She didn't get a good look at her character when it was being created, as Konata was helping her and was moving through the menus pretty fast. Now that she had time to look at herself, she found that her character was dressed similarly to Kagami's. She was wearing what looked like a v-neck vest under rather heavy looking metal armor. There were additional pieces of metal trailing down the sides of her legs like a skirt, as well as metal boots that reached up to her knees. The game had even created a set of glasses for her character to wear and her hair was tied up into a ponytail.

Taking off her visor, Miyuki could see that there was a large broadsword strapped to her character's back. She wondered just how her character could wield it.

"However, I'm surprised the design is so modest. I was expecting a bit more cleavage." Said Konata, earning an annoyed groan from Kagami and another blush from Miyuki.

"What about you?"

"Naturally, I'm a Rogue." Looking proud of herself she casually flipped the dual daggers her character held and added, "All adventurer parties need a thief character."

Looking over the blue-haired girl, Miyuki noted that she simply wore a vest over what she could best describe as a tunic. She had nothing more than a pair of fingerless gloves, boots, and a pair of sheaths for her daggers on her belt to complete her outfit. Yet, Miyuki couldn't help but think that the look fit her better than anyone else.

"Who knows, I might get lucky and meet a cute girl who will give me a mysterious bracelet."

Laughing at her own joke, everybody else joined in and laughed for a bit before heading off. Following the others, Miyuki turned her eyes downward hoping no one else noticed how forced her laugh was.

* * *

"Ehh? What do you mean you won't be able to come tomorrow?" asked the blue-haired girl absentmindedly kicking a rock in the road.

"Yes. I'm afraid my mom has already made the appointment." The pink-haired girl sighed and turned her head down in apology. "I told my mother about our plans but she insisted. My tooth has hurt lately."

Konata nodded. She knew about Miyuki's sensitive teeth and her fear of dentists but couldn't quite hide how disappointed she was. The first day of testing had gone rather well. Aside from a few rather obvious graphical glitches, the game was ready for release in her opinion.

After they signed out, they were asked to fill out a form with their opinions and criticisms. She remembered thinking it was pretty strange but quickly forgot about it.

'Man, my arms are still sore.' Thought Konata as she stretched her shoulders. "Don't worry about it. Kagami and Tsukasa will still be there, and I'll make sure to get your pay. Besides, your fine for today right?"

Nodding her head, Miyuki smiled slightly and then turned away as they reached an intersection. Over the sound of passing cars, Konata barely heard the glasses wearing girl's mutterings. "I could just not go."

Tilting her head, Konata thought about asking her about it only to be interrupted by the arrival of the Hiragi twins.

After exchanging greetings, Kagami said that the two of them would be leaving early because their father wanted to talk to the family over dinner. Sighing, Konata nodded and went inside the building with her friends. She had followed up on the volunteer notice because she wanted to do something with everyone. _It doesn't look like we'll be able to finish this together,_ she thought.

* * *

"Ouch!" That was the third rock she had kicked since coming into the cave area.

_'_Wait, that's not right_'._ Shaking her head, she corrected herself. 'That's the third time I've kicked the table. Right?'

They had traveled through the area for nearly an hour. Kagami was leading the charge, and both Tsukasa and Miyuki looked like they were getting tired. From the back of the group Konata watched as everyone entered another empty room. There were a lot of them and it was getting rather boring.

Stretching her arms Kagami called back to the rest of the group. "How much farther do we have to go? We haven't seen anything in a while."

Before she could answer, Tsukasa's voice drew everyone's attention. "Oneechan, it's late. We have to get home. Dad's probably already worried about us."

"Ah, your right." Realizing how late it was Kagami stopped and faced the group. "Sorry but we got to go. Guess we should log out now."

"Don't worry about it. Miyuki-san and I can take care of the rest." proclaimed Konata, looking to her glasses wearing friend for her agreement. "We'll see you two tomorrow to finish up."

As Kagami took off her visor to start leaving, Miyuki and Konata started stretching so they would be ready for the rest of the area.

"What the hell?"

Turning around in confusion, Konata saw the purple-haired girl with her hand in front of her face wearing a scared expression. "What's wrong Kagami?" she asked.

Not moving her hand, Kagami said, "Konata, I need you to take off my visor." Her only answer was a rather confused look from the smaller girl. Before she could answer Kagami shouted, "Just do it okay!"

Taken aback by the sudden outburst, the blue-haired girl simply shrugged, closed her eyes, and took off her visor.

That was what she thought.

'Huh? What is this? Where's my visor?' Opening her eyes, Konata saw a gloved hand in front of her face. Her mind froze. She wasn't wearing gloves so why was there a gloved hand in front of her.

Suddenly, it hit her. Her legs felt tired from walking when she should have been sitting in a chair all this time and she didn't feel a controller in her hands.

"Kona-chan? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Ignoring Tsukasa's questions, Konata looked behind her for the rock she had kicked earlier. Running over to it she kicked it as hard as she could. A shooting pain rushed through her leg as the rock rolled a few feet away from her.

"How is this possible?" Miyuki's trembling voice came from behind her. Turning around, she saw Miyuki frantically grabbing at something that should be in front of her only to grab air. Tsukasa wasn't faring any better, as she had started shaking and looked like she was going to cry.

Taking a deep breath, Konata tried to regain control of the situation. They were inside of the game. She didn't know how but they had to get out. 'It's the dungeon right? It's because we're in a dungeon. We just have to get out and we'll be fine.' Frantic, her mind was racing for a solution. After a few minutes of calming everyone down they all decided to exit the dungeon and head back to town for help.

* * *

The sun was setting, giving an eerie glow to the empty hallway. The shoji doors that had shown numerous people engaged in games had been flung open to reveal nothing more than white wall. At the end of the hall, the door was open revealing four girls, their bodies draped over their chairs, seemingly lifeless. The visors that had covered their eyes removed and set on the table. To one side stood the businesswoman who had accompanied them through their "tests"; standing in the same spot she had started in hours ago.

The sound of footsteps drew the woman's attention. Bowing to the new arrival, she faded into the air, as though she had never existed. Taking her place was a blonde woman wearing a frilly white and purple dress and hat decorated with red ribbons. The fan she held in her hand hiding the large smile that occupied her face.

"It seems things went well." The voice from behind her seemed tired. The purple haired woman yawned as she slowly floated over to her friend, and examined the scene in the room. "So, what's next?"

"We simply move onto step two. Separating her from her friends will be rather easy." Tilting her head over her shoulder, she gestured to several other figures roaming about the hall. "For now, we should move them. This place has served its purpose."

Turning back towards the girls in the room, she muttered, "This time I will not fail."

With a resounding snap of her fan, the world began to distort. Outside, evening commuters continued on their way, barely sparing a second glance at the empty lot that had always existed in that corner of the business district.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Separation

The sun was starting to rise over the tallest buildings. The water reflected the light onto the grassy fields illuminating the dew that had formed. You could even hear the birds start to chirp as they started to wake up. If you didn't know any better you would not be able to tell that this was in fact a virtual world. Konata Izumi was still having trouble believing that was the case.

Night had just turned into early morning and the various NPCs had been going about their business nonstop since they had arrived back in town. That was the only thing that told her she was still inside a game. After returning from the dungeon in a panic, they had all looked for anyone who could help them. They had found no one but NPCs. The various players that had populated the game before were nowhere to be found. Eventually, things had started to calm down, even if Tsukasa was still crying, and Kagami had managed to set up an area for them to sleep for the night.

Their group was now resting under one of the large trees in a small park, their weapons stacked up, and everyone huddled under hastily bought cloaks that served as blankets. Turning away from the group and out towards the now bustling square, Konata began to think about their situation.

On the surface it didn't look too bad. The group had quickly realized that while they still had to sleep, they didn't get hungry. They also seemed to have abilities that would be impossible in the normal game. For one, Konata found that she was a lot faster than the NPCs and probably even the enemies and that she wasn't limited by the games rules. The downside was that things like magic and special attacks would be impossible.

With a small smile, Konata realized that this was every gamers dream come true; a game that you could control without question. But, she knew that the others wouldn't feel that way.

The whole experience seemed too impossible, but the more she thought about it, the worse her situation seemed. They had been lured into a trap, and the fact that it was one aimed at her made her feel worse.

Their captor had sent an invitation tailored to her interests as a way to draw her and her friends in. The beta testing itself was also a lie. Looking around she realized that this was a complete game and any glitches or errors were probably put in to make the story believable.

Then there was how they got into the game. They hadn't noticed. After walking around for a couple of hours they didn't realize that they were actually walking. Everything seemed natural and there were no enemies to fight.

'Of course there were no enemies. If we got into a fight we would realize something was wrong when we went for our weapons.' Thinking to herself, she knew it was only natural they were caught with such a good trap. But that only made her feel worse.

Sighing to herself, the blue-haired girl scratched her head and stood up. It looked like time in here was the same as time outside, which meant that their parents were probably worried sick since they didn't come home. She didn't know what good it would do, but she started heading towards the square.

"Where're you going? I thought we agreed to stick together."

Looking over her shoulder, she spotted her purple-haired friend gently placing her cloak over her sister, before turning around to face her.

"I was just going to look around for more information." The reply was confident. At least she hoped it sounded that way.

"We already tried that remember? They're just NPCs. They don't know anything." The taller girl's blunt statement served to bring her back down to reality for a minute.

They weren't in the real world; they were in a video game. The people she meets are not going to think and help her solve their problem. They are just going to repeat the same two sentences they are programmed to speak.

"We can still just look around. If we came into this game somehow there should be a way to get back out."

"How?"

Crossing her arms she started to think. She tried thinking of every possible solution she could about how to possibly get them out. Nothing was coming to mind until…

"Oh." Hitting her fist into her hand, she suddenly realized, "We can just finish the game."

Deciding to elaborate after receiving her friend's curious look, she said, "It's simple. Beating the final boss ends the game right? So all we have to do is find the highest-level area and beat the boss at the end. That should trigger an ending sequence and allow us to get out."

"I guess that will work. But do you think we can do something like that?" Pointing to herself and the others Kagami said, "We aren't exactly warriors you know?"

"It'll be fine. We're not bound by the rules of the game. The enemies won't be able to touch us." Brimming with confidence from her idea, Konata smiled proudly.

"Will it really be alright Kona-chan?"

Back under the tree, Tsukasa and Miyuki were just starting to wake up and had heard the new idea.

"It will definitely work Tsukasa. It always works in manga and anime, so why shouldn't it work here?"

Kagami shook her head at her smaller friend. So that was where she got the idea. But, before she could voice any objections, Miyuki interrupted her, to her surprise.

"I think Izumi-san is right. She knows more about these kinds of situations so I think we should try her idea."

Konata was now smiling more brightly than she was before. With her friends backing her up things didn't seem so bleak. She turned around and started down towards the shops. "I'll go and buy supplies. You guys go look for the highest-level area you can find. We'll meet up at the warp gate." She could barely hear Miyuki following after her as her mind started racing about what was going to happen.

* * *

The air in the local marketplace was buzzing. People were milling about, walking down the streets, and talking to each other. The only problem was that everyone had only two lines of dialogue max.

None of this bothered Konata as she simply walked from one stall to the next, her inventory bag slung over her shoulder. It was a rather simple cloth sack, but in true video game fashion it could hold just about everything she could ever want and not grow any bigger or heavier. Her smile quickly vanished when she saw the obstacle in front of her. Standing in front of the next stall were two NPCs who had wandered into the store area and were now stuck there.

Sighing to herself, she squeezed past the mage character in front of her and set to work ordering new weapons for her and her friends. It was only during times like this where she was glad for her small stature.

Finalizing her purchase, she squeezed back out from behind the magician only to run into Miyuki.

"Sorry I got you involved in all of this."

Raising her eyebrows in surprise, Miyuki turned to look at her smaller friend. Her voice was heavy and she seemed sincerely upset. This was puzzling considering how she was always so full of energy and very rarely apologized.

"I mean. I'm sure this isn't your idea of fun and you would probably rather be doing something else."

"There's no need to apologize Izumi-san." Miyuki's response caught her off guard. Laughing softly she continued, "It has actually been rather fun hanging out with you like this."

Her taller friend's comment made her smile. It was nice to know that Miyuki didn't hate her and actually enjoyed spending time with… her. "Huh, with me?"

Voicing her confusion, Konata heard Miyuki stop behind her. Turning around, she saw the pink-haired girl standing stiff as a board with her mouth open in shock. Her face was quickly turning a very vivid scarlet.

"N-n-no! W-what I meant was… w-with you, and Kagami-san and Tsukasa-san. That's what I meant." Miyuki was frantic. She had never seen her friend get this flustered before, and the more she watched the more she couldn't help but laugh.

Controlling herself, Miyuki politely coughed and readjusted her bag and sword. "W-we should be moving Izumi-san. Kagami-san and Tsukasa-san are probably waiting for us." With that, she started walking towards where they would meet the others.

"Ehh? Did I… just start the Miyuki-san route?" Realizing she wouldn't get an answer anytime soon Konata started following after her friend. However, she did have to admit that Miyuki did look cute when she was flustered.

* * *

If there was one thing Konata could be proud of right now, it was that she was right about the dungeon. Because they were actually in the game, the girls were able to do whatever they wanted. The enemies couldn't hit them.

It had taken one battle for them to figure out that every enemy had a set attack pattern, which could be easily dodged. Even the magic attacks could be sidestepped. Things had progressed rather smoothly to the point where even Miyuki was getting used to wielding her large broadsword and Tsukasa was very comfortable using the basic spell items.

Unfortunately, that was five floors ago. Right now, everyone was tired and only fought when necessary. Instead they chose to run past everything they came across. Whenever they did fight it didn't seem to mean anything. Any time they attacked an enemy, the attack seemed to pass right through them, with only a slashing sound letting them know they were doing damage. The enemies themselves left no impact on whatever they hit.

"O-oneechan. Can we take a break?" Tsukasa's tired voice brought her out of her thoughts. Miyuki and Tsukasa were resting against the wall, and Konata wasn't far away from joining them. "Kona-chan. How much longer do we have to go?"

Bringing her hand up to her chin, she considered how to answer her friend. Most of the dungeons she knew of usually didn't go down that far, maybe about ten levels tops. But there were some that went down to around a hundred levels. Those ones were usually challenge dungeons though so she dismissed that possibility. The only problem was she didn't know which kind this particular dungeon was.

She decided it would be better to calm her friends down. "I'm sure it's not that much farther. Most MMO dungeons aren't that big so there should only be a few more floors at most."

Her answer seemed to cheer up the purple-haired magician as she smiled, visibly relaxed.

"Sure. It'll just be that easy."

Looking over her shoulder, Konata saw her last friend standing against the wall, her lance crossed in front of her.

"What's up Kagamin?" asked Konata, using her favorite nickname for her in an attempt to lighten the mood. The glare that was shot at her told her that was a bad idea.

Getting up from the wall, Kagami began walking into the center of the room, ready to speak her mind.

"Do you really think it will be that easy? How long have we been down here? There is absolutely no sign of an end to this place." She was getting more upset with every word she spoke.

Taken aback by her friend's tirade, Konata tried to defuse the situation. "Don't worry, it'll be fine. We're almost to the end I'm sure of it."

"Fine! Everything will be fine? You think you know everything don't you? Everything will work out and we'll all just go back to our normal lives. Well what happens when that doesn't happen? What then?" Kagami was swinging her lance as she yelled forcing everyone to step back out of fear of getting hit.

"Oneechan calm down." Tsukasa was scared. She had never seen her sister this angry before.

"Why should I calm down? It's been who knows how long and we're not any closer to finding a way out of this situation." She turned to look at Konata, a look of pure anger filling her blue eyes. "This is all your fault."

Those words stopped her dead. Konata's mind froze. 'She's right' she thought. If she hadn't brought them to that company building; if she had looked into the company a bit more; if she had done something else, this would have never happened.

"It's not Izumi-san's fault!"

Jumping slightly at the sudden outburst, Konata turned around to see Miyuki standing defiantly with a serious look on her face.

"Izumi-san didn't know that this would happen, and she is trying her best to find a way out."

"So what! She's the reason we're all here now. She always does whatever she wants without thinking about how it will affect others or what their opinions are."

Pausing for a moment to word her answer, Miyuki replied, "Izumi-san may be impulsive, but she would never do something or bring us someplace that wasn't safe."

"Then how do you explain all of this?"

"Someone sent her that invitation."

"Because they knew she would answer it. And because of her we're now stuck here with no way of getting home."

Miyuki stopped. Biting her bottom lip, she turned her head away. For the first time in her life she found herself unable to come up with a proper answer. Konata didn't blame her. She had come to the same conclusion that Kagami had and from her point of view, she was completely responsible for what happened.

"Humph, whatever." With that Kagami turned on her heels and went through the door into the next area.

Tsukasa turned her head back and forth between the door and her two friends wondering which way she should go. Nodding to herself she made her decision. "Don't worry Kona-chan. I think Oneechan is just tired. I'll go and talk to her. Wait here." Without waiting for an answer, Tsukasa raced out of the room chasing after her older twin.

The silence was deafening. The two girls stood in the middle of the room with their heads down, both unsure of what to say to each other.

Konata decided to break the silence. "Thanks Miyuki-san. But, she is right you know." Adjusting the daggers along her belt, she sat down and grabbed her knees, still trying to register what had just happened.

"Th-that's not… true." Noting the hesitation in her voice, she stopped and didn't say anything else. Instead she sat down next to her smaller friend in an attempt to comfort her.

They sat there for several minutes. Neither one saying anything to the other, but occasionally sharing glances.

"Hey Miyuki-san? How come you're only so formal with me?" She had no idea where this topic of conversation came from. She just wanted to say something.

"Um, I am not sure. It just seems natural I guess."

Tilting her head, Konata could see her friend playing with her glasses as she tried to think of a reason.

"But you call Kagami and Tsukasa by their first names. So why not me." Thinking to herself, she already knew the answer, but it had always been a little weird.

"That's… well." A blush covered her cheeks as she took a deep breath to prepare herself. "K-Konata… san."

Konata felt her cheeks start to burn and immediately turned away, only to find herself laughing uncontrollably.

"Don't laugh." yelled Miyuki, her cheeks turning even redder. This only caused Konata to continue laughing, and soon Miyuki found herself joining in.

Their laughter echoed through the room, the events of a few minutes ago completely forgotten.

"We should probably find the others. They couldn't have gotten too far." Konata turned to her friend. "So, let's go Miyuki."

Miyuki blushed. Konata realized that it was rather shocking to just refer to her without the 'san' honorific, and started to apologize. She stopped though when she caught her try to hide the happiest smile she had seen.

Blushing slightly Konata stood up and adjusted her daggers. Waiting for Miyuki to do the same, she suddenly grabbed her head in pain as a loud cry rang out.

"Waaaah! Where is everybody?" The voice seemed to come from inside their heads, but Miyuki's eyes shot open as though she suddenly realized something.

"Tsukasa-san?" asked Miyuki to no one in particular. Her only response was more crying from inside her head.

"This must be…" Konata started as if she had figured it out. Closing her eyes she tried calling out to her friend with her thoughts. 'Tsukasa is that you? Can you hear me?'

'Kona-chan? Where are you? I don't know where I am.'

Realizing that she was now talking in 'group speak', she had two questions. Where was Tsukasa now, and how did Tsukasa figure out how to do this before her?

Before she could ask anything else Kagami's voice pierced her thoughts. 'Tsukasa where are you? I thought you were right behind me?'

'I thought I saw something so I went to go check it out. When I got back you were gone.' Tsukasa was hysterical.

It seemed the twins had gotten separated when Kagami went down a floor. It would take her some time to get back so Konata and Miyuki decided to run to her first.

'Tsukasa-san just stay in contact with us okay. That way we will be able to find you easier.'

'How do I do that?'

'Why not sing a song about something. That way we can follow your voice.'

'Balsamic vinegar?'

Konata couldn't help but groan at her friend's choice for a song but told her that anything would be fine. Soon after that they could hear a faint voice in the distance and the two began heading for the sound.

They had run through several rooms, dodging enemies, when Miyuki suddenly stopped. Asking what was wrong, Konata froze at the answer.

"I can't hear Tsukasa-san's voice anymore."

Without another word, Konata ran as fast as she could toward where they had last heard her voice. Her mind filled with possible thoughts of what could have happened. Shaking her head, Konata turned a corner into another large room. Whatever she had thought, this was the last thing she expected to see.

In the center of the room stood Tsukasa. Her staff was at her feet and her blue eyes were blank. Standing in front of her was a tall blonde woman wearing a white frilly dress and holding a white parasol. She had her other hand on top of Tsukasa's head and seemed to be ruffling her hair.

The blonde woman, noticing the two newcomers, turned her head towards them. A small smile graced her lips. "Well, well. It looks like you found me."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Losses and Gains

"Tsukasa!"

"Tsukasa-san!"

The two girls froze in their tracks. Standing in front of them was an older woman wearing a white frilly dress and hat, with a parasol, and their friend Tsukasa, who didn't even acknowledge their existence.

"Well, this certainly is a surprise." The blonde woman shifted her gaze to look at the two girls near the entrance with feigned curiosity. "I wasn't expecting to see you two so soon. Personally, I was expecting the older sister."

"Who are you? What are you doing with Tsukasa-san?" Yelling to the woman in front of her, Miyuki reached back as though to grab her sword.

The blonde simply stood there and let out a small chuckle. "Oh. That's right. We haven't met before." Smiling to herself like she had just heard a good joke, she turned her head so she was now looking at the younger girls.

In one fluid motion she swung her parasol in a circle, closing it, and placed the sharpened tip to Tsukasa's throat. "Now, now. There is no need for that, wouldn't you agree."

Miyuki froze and let her hand fall to her side. Konata, who had been slowly reaching for her weapons, did the same.

With a small nod, the woman casually flipped the parasol back onto her shoulder, her smile never leaving her lips. "Good girls."

"What do you want?" Konata snarled her question, her mind racing to come up with anything that could help them.

"Oh, I think I've already found what I'm looking for." Turning her attention back to the girl in front of her, the woman continued ruffling her hair. "Ah! Here it is."

With a happy smile, the woman made a motion as though she was flipping a switch on top of Tsukasa's head. Tsukasa gasped and her body shuddered as golden light started to flow outward from her body, ending as lines of golden light at her fingers and her head. As suddenly as the light started it stopped, leaving the two girls wondering what had just happened to their friend.

"Oh. Are you still here?" Tilting her head, the woman looked at the two young girls watching the scene before them, expressions of terror painting their faces.

"It will be more trouble keeping you around, so…" The woman casually moved her parasol, drawing a thin line in the air. In an instant, the thin line grew and spread into a large void within space. From within this hole, a large blue giant stepped into the room. The hole closed behind the giant as though it never existed.

The woman simply smiled as the golem stepped in front of her and readied its sword.

Konata and Miyuki took a step back. The giant was almost as tall as the room they were standing in and the sword it held was half the size of its body. Konata, however, smiled. Though the giant was big, they had already faced several large enemies and she knew that it would be easy to deal with this one as well.

"Let's go!" With a victory yell, Konata drew her daggers in a reverse grip and started off towards the golem, intent on bringing it down and helping her friend. Behind her she could hear Miyuki draw her sword and follow after her.

Running full tilt towards the golem, Konata raised her dagger ready to slash it and start the process of dealing damage. Bringing her arm down, her dagger slashed across the giant's leg with a loud clang.

_Wait. Something's wrong._ This was all she could think. Rather than slashing across the giant's leg like she had done to several enemies before, the dagger had collided with the giant and clanged off harmlessly.

"Konata-san!"

Without thinking, Konata threw herself to her left. A second later the giant's sword slammed down where she used to be. She tried to turn around and slash the giant again only to find herself flying through the air as the ground around her cracked and flew up.

Konata hit the ground and rolled for several feet before coming to a stop. With a groan she pushed herself back onto her feet. 'What happened?' she asked, her mind still spinning. Nothing like this had happened before during their fights. A loud clang broke her out of her daze, and looking up she saw Miyuki had just taken a swing at the large monstrosity.

Miyuki had managed to avoid the giant's horizontal swing, which had cut a large gash in the ground, and had then started swinging her broadsword at the giant's leg. Her sword was not doing any better than Konata's daggers, and after what happened to Konata, she was more than a little worried.

This time it was Konata's turn to scream. The giant had pulled back its sword so it was ready to spear Miyuki into the ground. Hearing her friend's scream, Miyuki jumped to her right just before the golem started to move. Thinking she was safe from attack she raised her sword again.

She didn't get off another swing as the giant's sword drove into the ground and broke the area around it. The resulting shockwave threw her off her feet and towards the wall. As she struggled to get up, the giant pulled its sword from the floor and leveled it at the swordswoman for a killing strike. Without warning the pink-haired girl was lifted off the ground and carried a short distance.

Looking to her side she saw Konata had run over to her and was proceeding to tackle her away from the area of impact. She wasn't very successful. The giant's sword strike lifted the two girls further off the ground and blew them into the wall where they collapsed.

Raising her head, Konata looked over to Miyuki only to find her unconscious and bleeding from where her head had struck the wall. Hearing a noise behind her she braced herself for whatever was coming. The impact never came as the battlefield stopped.

"What… How is this possible?"

* * *

Kagami was speechless. The scene in front of her was too crazy to be real. Two of her best friends were on the ground, bleeding, with a giant golem standing over them. In front of them was her younger sister, standing as stiff as a board, with blank eyes. The most unbelievable part though was who was standing nest to her sister. Wearing a white frilly dress, hat and parasol was someone she had seen rather recently, from a video game of all places.

"Yukari… Yakumo?" She didn't even believe the words that were coming out of her mouth, but the blonde woman's smile said all that needed to be said.

"Fufufu. It's about time you showed up. I thought I would have to leave your friends' corpses here to get your attention."

Kagami was in shock. She could barely process what she was seeing, and now this woman was saying that she was going to kill her friends.

"Oh, that reminds me." Yukari's calm voice brought her back to what was happening in front of her. "I have an answer for the question you asked earlier. You know, when you asked whose fault it was."

Flashing the biggest smile she could muster, Yukari gleefully uttered a searing truth. "It's your fault, Kagami Hiragi."

Kagami's mind froze. _There's no way that could be right_ she thought. Tightening her grip on her lance, she stepped forward; ready to run this fake Youkai through. A large blue blur swept across her field of vision, tearing through the floor, and knocking her onto her back. Looking up she saw that the giant had moved in front of Yukari and was now leveling its giant sword at her.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You really should learn to curb your temper." Yukari shook her head, faking her sympathy towards the downed lancer. "If you did, you may be able to learn something."

"As I said, this entire situation is all your fault." Yukari was grinning from ear to ear, pleased with the terrified look on the young girls face. "It's quite simple really. If you hadn't joined your little friend in that little test, you would not have been trapped here."

Those words shocked her. If she had stopped Konata and gone somewhere else none of this would have happened.

"Then again, that only means I would have had to be more ... direct." The woman's' laughter filled the air.

"Of course, the only one I wanted was this little one here." Tussling Tsukasa's hair, Yukari turned back to Kagami and gave her death sentence. "Now that I have her, it doesn't matter what happens to you."

The sound of a boot hitting the floor brought Kagami out of her shock. Behind Yukari, Konata had gotten up and was now running towards her, her dagger raised. Without a word, Konata jumped into the air and swung her weapon. Her green eyes filled with rage.

"Konata!" Kagami's scream never reached her.

Before Konata could connect with her attack, a gap opened on the wall to her right and a flash of light flew out of it. Faster than anything Kagami had ever seen, the light hit Konata in her side sending her flying into the wall where she lay unmoving, blood flowing from the gash in her side.

"How uncivilized you humans are." A large gap opened behind Yukari and Tsukasa, ready to whisk them away. Sparing one final glance towards Kagami, Yukari finished their conversation. "I've always wondered. What happens to a body that has lost its soul?"

The gap closed. Tsukasa and the lady Yukari Yakumo disappeared from the room. The only ones left were the three humans and the giant golem.

The golem thrust its sword into the ground, hoping to finish the opponent in front of it. Kagami quickly jumped out-of-the-way and back onto her feet, managing to hold her ground on the shaking earth. Without wasting any time, the giant ripped its' sword through the ground embedding it in the wall and knocking Kagami back.

_What the hell is this?_ Looking around she could see her friends lying on the ground. _Am I going to die?_

Her hands started shaking, and she could hear her lance rattling. Oblivious to her plight, the giant wrenched its' sword free from the wall and swung hoping to cleave the small girl in two.

Instinctively, Kagami brought her lance up to guard unsure whether she would still be alive from the next attack. That instant, something clicked in her mind.

_Fill it._

A voice entered her head. Her voice.

_Fill it. Fill the cracks. What is already there, change it. Make it unbreakable._

In that instant she could feel something flowing through her entire body. But before she could comprehend what any of it meant, the sword collided with her lance.

Kagami was flung through the air until she slammed into the wall, only to drop to the ground just barely holding onto her consciousness, her cracked lance flying from her grasp.

The giant moved towards her, it's footsteps shaking the ground.

Lifting her head, Kagami wondered if this would be the end for her until she heard the sound of several footsteps at the other end of the room. Her vision was blurry, but she was able to make out four shadows, two of them taller than the others.

As her consciousness faded, she heard a female voice yell, "Lightning, Engage!"

* * *

Her body was heavy.

Straining herself, Miyuki opened her eyes, only to close them again from the bright light above her. Regaining herself, she opened her eyes again and looked around the room.

She had been put into a bed in an unfamiliar room. To her right she could see the sun starting to rise through the window. For a brief moment she thought she was home in the real world and out of the game; only to have that hope dashed when she saw her sword propped up against the wall along with Kagami's lance. Konata's belt with her daggers was draped over her sword.

"Oh! You're awake?"

Turning her head, Miyuki saw a younger bespectacled girl leaning over her bed. Behind the round glasses was a pair of worried red eyes.

"Thank goodness. Don't try to move. You've been asleep for a while"

Miyuki didn't need to be told. Just lying there, she didn't even think her body would respond if she tried to move.

Looking past the girl she saw Konata lying on another bed fast asleep. She realized that Kagami must be on another bed past that.

"You're the first one to wake up. Don't worry though. Your injuries weren't that bad." The young girl was busily running around the room, arranging flowerpots and making sure everything was set properly. A loud noise from another room caught the girl's attention. "That must be…" With a smile the girl turned back to Miyuki. "I'll go and let the others know that you're okay. Just stay in bed and rest for a bit."

With one last smile the girl ran to the door, eager to spread her newfound good news.

That was when it hit her. Looking at the girl, she didn't look like any of the characters that they had come into contact with while in the game. The girl had red hair tied into two ponytails down her back with what looked like flower barrettes. However, her clothes were what caught her attention. She was wearing what looked to Miyuki like designer merchandise; a pink blouse, green Capri pants, and designer boots.

The last thing she noticed was the girl's arm. Her right forearm was wrapped in a strange red cloth.

The girl walked out of the room and closed the door. Miyuki could hear several voices from the other room, but couldn't hear what they were saying. Frustrated, she tried to push herself off the bed only to fall back down, panting heavily.

Her body refused to respond to her, and any attempt she made to move just tired her out far more than it should. Struggling for several minutes, Miyuki managed to force herself into a sitting position, but that was the most she was able to move her tired body.

She didn't know how long she had sat there listening to the sounds from the next room. After a few minutes, she heard what she thought was the sound of a door closing.

"Ah! What do you know? She actually is awake."

Raising her gaze, Miyuki saw a new girl standing in the doorway. This girl had bluish-black hair and blue eyes. Strangely, she was also wearing designer clothes. This girl was wearing a green and white dress with a yellow heart pattern on the front, and brown designer boots.

"What are you doing out of bed?" The redhead yelled from the doorway. Pushing her way past the new girl, she grabbed Miyuki and tried to force her back into bed. "You should be resting!"

Miyuki tried to resist and say something, but her body was to weak for her to do anything and the girl was far stronger than she looked.

"Please just rest for now. Don't worry; once you and your friends have rested up we'll explain everything. So please." The young girls red eyes were pleading with her.

Unable to do anything, and feeling her eyelids start to droop, Miyuki was barely able to nod before falling asleep again.

* * *

Kagami brought the mug to her mouth and took a deep drink of the tea inside. Even though she couldn't taste it at the moment, it was extremely calming doing something normal after what had happened.

Everyone had woken up and was now sitting in a large room. The room itself had an upper section with two walkways that led up and an open area on the lower section. The open area had a semicircular couch surrounding a table where everyone was sitting at the moment.

Kagami sat on one end next to Konata and Miyuki while opposite them were two girls who had apparently taken care of them while they slept. On the walkway behind them stood … someone. This person was dressed in a long-sleeved, hooded black, leather jacket with matching pants, boots and gloves. Kagami couldn't see who this person was or what he or she looked like, but supposedly this person was important.

"Right." The red-haired girl spoke up. "We should introduce ourselves. My name is Tsubomi Hanasaki." She motioned towards her friend. "This is my partner Erika Kurumi."

Miyuki introduced herself and the other girls. While Kagami continued to sip her tea, she noticed that Konata had not said a word yet and looked like she was thinking of something.

Suddenly Konata snapped her fingers and exclaimed, "I got it! You're the new Precure group. The new season just started."

Tsubomi fell silent, as though she was trying to process what the blue-haired girl had just said. Kagami sighed and turned to her friend to reprimand her for her joke.

"Ehhh?! H-h-how did you know? Wait, no, I mean…" Tsubomi was frantic. She was sputtering and flailing her arms as she tried to fix whatever she was saying.

"Tsubomi! Calm down." A deep feminine voice came from the side of the room; drawing everyone's attention to the person in black. "This is an 'archive' planet. It's not unusual to think they would know about you."

_Wait. Is she serious?_ thought Kagami, only to have her thoughts broadcast by Konata. Tsubomi nodded in agreement, her cheeks red in embarrassment.

"B-but that can't be. Y-you're just an anime character." Konata was stuttering. Not surprising considering something she had meant as a joke seemed to be the truth.

"Well… in this world we are. I guess." The black-haired girl scratched her cheek, unsure of how to correctly explain the situation.

"This world?" Miyuki questioned. "That's the second time you mentioned another world. What do you mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. There are hundreds of other worlds out there. Thousands. You didn't think yours was the only one did you?" Erika smiled as she stated something that floored the other girls.

This was too much to believe. "There's no way that could be true." Kagami's mind was racing as she tried to think of anything that supported their claim.

"So you would deny what happened in the dungeon then?"

The leather-clad woman's question made Kagami remember what had happened in the dungeon. The image of the blonde haired woman in white who disappeared into a gap with her younger sister flashed in her mind.

"You mean Yukari Yakumo?" A nod from the hooded woman was all the proof she needed to believe what they were saying.

"Who?"

The question surprised her. Not because of what it was, but because of who asked it. Konata was looking at her with a look of pure confusion painted on her face.

"Huh? What do you mean 'who'? Yukari Yakumo, one of the characters from the Touhou games."

"Oh those shooter games? I've never played them." Konata's calm response floored her. There was a series of games that she had played that Konata had not. "Hehe, so you know all about these games do you?"

Konata fixed her with one of her trademark cat smiles. Kagami's cheeks flared. She knew that Konata was now going to tease her with this newfound knowledge just like she usually did.

"So then, which Organization member are you?" Kagami asked the woman in black, hoping to divert attention away from herself.

"Getting back to business," the woman simply ignored the question and began speaking. "It's been three days since your, heh, fight. And within those three days a 'certain game' has been released to the public."

Erika held up her hands and shrugged. "Supposedly this game was made by some famous studio or something because no one batted an eye at how strange it is. I mean really. If some game came out with tech far more advanced than anything you know about, wouldn't you be at least a little suspicious?"

Kagami couldn't help feeling a little hurt from the accusatory tone of her voice since this really should have occurred to her earlier. _Konata must be feeling even worse though._ _I mean she practically lives on this stuff. _The barely audible sound of her smaller friend gritting her teeth confirmed her thoughts.

To her relief, Tsubomi picked up from there. "Anyways, the game has already been sold all over Japan and even overseas. It's possible that this game is being sold everywhere in the world right now."

"Wait a minute." Looking over, Kagami could see that Miyuki was shaking. "Do you mean that all those people are trapped in here as well?"

Miyuki had seen the obvious conclusion. If this game was released worldwide, it's only natural to assume that there would be more people like them. That would be true, except…

"Huh? Why would they be?"

Erika's question caught them off guard.

"Wait, what do you mean? If all those people play this game won't they be…?" Konata asked, genuinely confused.

"She's right Konata." Kagami placed down her mug. "This wasn't a trap meant for just anyone." She could feel tears start to well up. "It was meant for us. For Tsukasa."

The realization finally dawned on her just what happened and how weak she was. Silence filled the room for a while as her friends dealt with this revelation.

"But." Miyuki was the first to break the silence. "Why is this game still running? I mean, if that woman has Tsukasa-san, why is it still being sold? There's no reason for it."

_She's right. There's no reason to keep this game world up and running. Yukari even said that it didn't matter what happened to us now. So why not just end the game and kill us, or something._ Kagami's thoughts sent a shiver up her spine as she realized just how little they could do.

"Who knows. Entertainment maybe."

The hooded woman's remark was a shock. Could it really be that simple, and why?

Casually shrugging her shoulders, the woman in black continued. "Honestly, it's just a guess. But this is a Youkai we are talking about, and a damn old one at that. We have no way of knowing what she's thinking."

That… certainly made sense. At least Kagami thought it did. And the more she remembered about the character in the games, the more it seemed to fit.

"By the way." Konata's voice brought Kagami back to the scene in front of her. "If we're inside of the game because of some ancient demon, Youkai thing… how did you three get here?"

The two girls in front of her jumped. _I guess they thought it wouldn't come up._

"W-well, we… um."

"T-that is… you see."

"What they mean to say, is that you don't need to know how." The two girls were spared thanks to their hooded companion, who was causally leaning against the wall. "You should just be thankful."

Tilting an eyebrow, Kagami glared at the older woman. "What do you mean 'thankful'?"

"Exactly what I said." The hooded woman folded her arms and gave what Kagami assumed was a superior look. "If we hadn't been curious enough to play this game, the three of you would be dead by now."

"C-captain! Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Tsubomi turned around to look at this 'captain' utterly surprised. Erika wasn't to far behind her.

"W-wait didn't the Commander say to…"

Erika was quickly silenced by a sharp look from their captain. "You two talk too much."

Kagami, still in shock from what the woman had said before, could barely hear her groan as Konata started firing questions at her. "Shut up!" Holding up a gloved hand to silence the blue-haired girl, the 'captain' pushed herself off the wall and walked over to the couch.

"We only found you because a game like this shouldn't exist in this world, and our Commander gets far too curious. So even when we have another much more important mission to deal with, we got sidetracked and wound up saving you."

Kagami was a bit concerned with the tone the captain used when talking about their commander, but decided to let that slide for now. If what she was saying was true, then that meant they were some kind of special ops group or something.

"So then, does that mean the three of you are like a police force?" Miyuki's face lit up as she processed this new information. Konata on the other hand was practically jumping in her seat.

"Or even a Counter Force! Are you three ancient heroes sent from the past to fight evil?" At this point Konata actually was jumping up and down in excitement.

Miyuki giggled at the sight before her while Kagami couldn't help but groan. Shifting her glance she could see Tsubomi and Erika were more than a little unnerved. But before she could stop her friend, she heard a low growl coming from the woman in black.

"First of all… Shut up!" Seeing that the blue bean had stopped bouncing she continued. "Second, don't compare us with something like them. I don't plan on becoming a heroic spirit anytime soon. Third, I don't remember saying we were here to help you."

Those words brought everything crashing down. She was right. She never said they were there to help them, just that they had already helped them.

"We already have a mission we need to complete. Adding a missing child to that list will just make things more difficult." Looking away with a curse she added, "I'd rather not deal with any Youkai if I could help it too."

"What!" Kagami slammed the table, almost flipping the mugs of coffee, and growled at the older woman. "A missing child? That's my sister you're talking about!"

She could hear Tsubomi yelp a bit at the sudden outburst and felt Konata grab her arm in an attempt to hold her back. None of this fazed her however as all she could see was the black hood in front of her and the dismissive look she knew the woman wearing it was giving her.

Kagami was a second away from throwing herself over the table when she interrupted her with a sigh. "Our mission is to locate a pair of fugitives that fled to this region. However, our Commander's curiosity forced us into this situation. So,…" Turning her back on the group she began to walk up to one of the rooms. "You can thank our Commander for this little order. 'Keep watch over those three.'"

Opening the door, the Captain paused and looked back at the stunned girls. "Tsubomi, Erika!. Use of your powers is forbidden for the time being. Understood?"

Silence filled the room as the two girls looked at each other before nodding and snapping to salute. "Yes ma'am!"

_What the hell just happened? First she said they can't help us and then… she said something about keeping watch over us. What's going on? _Tsubomi and Erika turned around to face the three sporting big smiles. _Also, it just looks weird seeing someone who looks younger than me saluting like that._

"So? What was that all about?"

Adjusting her glasses, Tsubomi stepped forward. "Oh. Well, what the Captain means is…"

She then extended her hand. "We've been ordered to keep you safe."

"We can't actually help you fight yet, but…" Erika stepped forward, puffing out her chest. "We'll be able to help you out in some other ways."

Erika extended her hand as well.

There was nothing she could say. Everything had seemed to be falling apart before. Konata and Miyuki were happily shaking hands with the younger girls in front of them.

Wiping away the tears that were falling down her face, Kagami reached out and took their hands.

_Tsukasa. Don't worry. We'll find you._

* * *

**First of all, I would like to thank everyone for reading this far. Things start picking up from here. I had wanted to base this story's progression on that of a video game. There is the unwinnable fight in this chapter. From here on out will basically be the dungeons leading up to the boss fights, with needed development in between.**

**Another thing I am thinking of doing is posting profiles or notes about people met or things that I feel need explanation down here after each chapter. I'm not going to go into detail about every little thing right away, but as they become relevant to the story.**

**Again, thank you for reading this, and I hope you will look forward to more as it comes.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Confrontation

"Hah." Letting out a deep breath, Miyuki slowly got to her feet and clumsily sheathed her broadsword. Looking behind her she could see the quickly disappearing remnants of the monster she had just killed. Looking around, she could see Konata awkwardly flipping her daggers back and forth in her hands, trying to find a more comfortable grip. Next to her, Kagami was practicing stabbing with her lance.

The three girls were inside a rather high level, according to Konata, temple in an attempt to learn how to fight. Miyuki sighed as she recalled the events that led them here.

* * *

"_No no no! You're doing it all wrong."_

_Erika started waving her arms to get the three girls in front of her to stop._

"_You should be swinging more like this." She clumsily moved her arms around as though she was holding a sword. Although, all she managed to do was make the girls more confused than they were._

"_Erika? What are you doing?" The redhead at the bedroom door held a hand to her head. Whatever her friend was doing clearly wasn't effective._

"_I'm teaching them how to fight. What does it look like?"_

"_It looks like you're trying to swat a fly." Erika puffed out her cheeks. "Besides, you don't use a weapon. How are you supposed to teach something you don't know?"_

_Erika looked away as everyone groaned, only to excitedly point at Tsubomi and shout, "Then why don't you teach them?"_

"_I don't use a weapon either." Erika deflated._

_A new idea came to her. "Oh. Then why don't we ask the Capt-", she stopped mid-sentence. Both knew what the answer would be._

"_Grr." She growled and began angrily rubbing her head. "Fine then." Pointing at the three girls she yelled, "Just go fight something. A boss. Go fight a boss monster, and come back when you're better."_

_Tsubomi could only shake her head at her friends' antics, while the others groaned._

* * *

So here they were. The three girls were forced to roam the temple looking for things to fight. Although, Miyuki had to admit that once they had gotten into a good rhythm, fighting had become rather enjoyable. It was still a bit awkward swinging around such a large weapon though.

"Okay Kagami. You're turn."

Looking to her left, she heard her pigtailed friend groan before closing her eyes in thought. Somewhere around the third floor, Konata had started humming and whistling various songs, and the girls had decided to make a game out of it.

Kagami started heading towards the door and began humming. She didn't get very far into the song before Konata figured it out.

"Ohh. The Dragonball Z opening. Good choice."

Kagami turned towards her smaller friend, her face flushed. "S-shut up. It was the first thing that came to mind."

Miyuki couldn't help but giggle at her friends. She hadn't guessed many of the songs that the two were humming and was secretly wishing she watched more, just so she could join their conversations more often.

"Alright then, my turn." The blue-haired girl lowered her head in thought. She had already used most of the well-known songs in her repertoire so she had to dig a bit to find new ones.

Suddenly, she perked up and started humming. This song however, was a bit slower than her earlier songs. Looking over to Kagami for help, Miyuki saw her tilt her head up. A clear sign that she was stumped.

"Oh!" It hit her. Miyuki recognized the song from a CD Konata had played one day when they all met up to study. "It's, umm… oh! Fude Pen."

"Correct! Wow, I didn't think you would get that one Miyuki-san."

Blushing slightly, Miyuki laughed at the semi-compliment she had received. Maybe she could make more time to watch anime inbetween her studies.

"Okay then Miyuki, your turn. Try and think of something shorty here would have never heard." Kagami placed her arms playfully on the shorter girl's head and winked at Miyuki.

A faint smile crossed her lips as she watched the two friends interact. While it was fun being around the two of them, she had to admit that she was a bit jealous of the closeness they shared.

Thinking briefly, Miyuki thought of the perfect song and took a deep breath.

"NYA~!"

Without warning a loud, high-pitched sound reverberated through the cave. The sound, like that of a cat's meow, quickly faded away as though it had never been made.

Miyuki quickly closed her mouth and tried to stop shaking as her entire body shivered. She quickly suppressed rapidly returning memories from her youth.

"What was that?" Kagami asked. At that moment, another screech fills the chamber, as if in response to Kagami's question.

A memory of feeding a stray cat in the park jumps into Miyuki's head, and she quickly shakes her head to clear it. Fixing her glasses, Miyuki turns to her friends for answers she is for the first time unable to give.

Another screech, and three more cats have joined the original.

"Oh! I get it." Konata hits her fist into her palm. "This must be the boss monster." Without waiting for a response, she continued. "Some games let you know when you're getting close to the boss by having them roar or make noises. The first Zelda game did it."

Miyuki slowly nodded her head. She desperately wanted to believe her shorter friend, but one look at Kagami made her doubt it.

"Kagami-san, do you think it might be…?" Her question went unfinished, as another screech from the unknown cat seemed to answer for them.

The small number of cats suddenly tripled, and a young Miyuki was surrounded.

"I'm not sure."

"Huh, what do you mean? Aren't there any cat Youkai in that game of yours Kagamin?"

Ignoring Konata's teasing tone, Kagami brought a hand to her head. "Shut up. That's just it. I know there are cat Youkai in the game, but I can't remember any of them right now. There are only, I think, two in the entire series, and I can't remember them doing anything."

Seemingly accepting the answer for the moment, Konata's hand drifted over her daggers. "We should get going then." Puffing out her chest she started walking towards the door. "We won't get any answers just standing around."

The two taller girls nodded to each other. That was certainly the truth, but there was just one small correction that needed to be made first. "Konata-san, I believe the noise came from this way."

Without missing a beat, the blue-haired rogue pivoted on her heel and continued walking, this time going the correct direction, her proud smile never faltering. Miyuki hid her mouth behind her hand as she giggled at her smaller friend. Looking to her side she spotted Kagami, propping herself up with her lance, howling with laughter.

* * *

_Two more floors and we still aren't any closer._ Konata was starting to get impatient. She never got impatient. Then again the constant screeching every couple of seconds was seriously starting to get on her nerves, and she suddenly had a very strong desire to throw her shoe at something.

Looking to her right, she could see Kagami holding a hand to her head and wincing every time a screech was made. Looking past her, Konata saw Miyuki with the darkest expression she had ever seen mumbling to herself.

"Miyuki-san? Are you okay?" She regretted asking the question after Miyuki turned to look at her.

She didn't think it was possible to Miyuki to look that angry. "Why yes Konata-san. I am doing… JUST… FINE." She practically spat the last two words.

Kagami came out of her own stupor and quickly backed away from the pink-haired girl. "Woah. A-are you sure you're okay Miyuki? You don't look so good."

Hiding behind her taller friend like a shield, Konata peaked over to see the former moe-blob attempt to calm herself down. The attempt wasn't going so well as she winced at each screech.

Seeing her friend's reaction, she hazarded a guess. "Miyuki-san? Do you, maybe, hate cats?"

Miyuki looked offended. "Of course not! I just…" Another screech filled the chamber. "I just HATE when they screech like this."

Konata backed up slightly. This was a bit too far from what she normally knew the girl to be like. Judging by how quickly Kagami stepped back, she felt the same.

Seeing her friends cringe away from her, Miyuki tried one last time to calm down. "This is all just reminding me of this cat my aunt always brings with her. It simply does not stop screeching."

"Eh? You don't like my voice?"

The three girls turned towards the door to see a young girl in a red dress and green hat staring at them with the most amused grin on her face.

She smiled. "I think I have a very lovely singing voice. Don't you?"

The girl let out an ear-splitting screech that had all three girls cover their ears and cringe. The small girl only laughs in response.

"Nyahahaha. You should see your faces. Humans are always so funny." The small girl doubles over in laughter, a pair of brown tails swishing wildly behind her.

Konata is the first to recover. Looking at the girl- err, catgirl, she looks to be about her height, and she can see cat ears poking out from under the hat. "Who are you?"

The catgirl's expression shifts to one of surprise. "Oh? You don't know me?" Her expression changes back to an amused smile. "I know all about you three."

The girl turns her back on the group. "Yukari-sama says now that we have her tool, we have no need for the other three."

A small gasp next to her draws Konata back to the present. "What did you say?"

Konata had only seen it happen in anime and manga, but she was sure that Kagami had somehow made the temperature drop around her out of sheer anger.

"Who the hell are you calling a 'tool'!" Kagami lunged forward, only to be restrained by Konata and Miyuki. The Youkai in front of them simply laughed at them.

"Nyahaha. It doesn't matter if you try anything. Yukari-sama won't let me die. She promised."

The catgirl let out a small gasp, as though she had just remembered something important. "That's right. I have to find that door." She looked back at the still restrained Kagami. "Sorry, I don't have time to play with you now. I have to find this door Yukari-sama is looking for." Her smile suddenly brightened. "If I find it Yukari-sama will play with me again like she used to."

With that the girl in red leapt through the door and out of sight, leaving only her voice to be heard.

With a grunt, Kagami broke free from her friend's grip. "We're going after her." It wasn't a statement, but an order. Konata could only nod in agreement.

* * *

Her knuckles were turning white from how hard she was gripping her lance, but at the moment, that didn't matter to her. Her hands could break off for all she cared. As long as her lance hit it's target.

"W-wait. P-please wait."

_This is the third time Miyuki._ She was getting angry. The more time they wasted, the farther away that Youkai could be getting. "Hurry up! She's getting away!"

"Kagami calm down. We just need a moment to-"

"Calm down! You think I can calm down after what she said about Tsukasa? She could be getting away-"

"She's still in the temple Kagami. Listen." As if on cue, the catgirl screeched. Her voice was closer than it was before so she might have doubled back.

Miyuki sat down on the ground and tried to catch her breath. "We all want to catch her Kagami-san. But we won't be able to do anything if we are all tired when we find her." She looked up at Kagami expectantly. "Or ill-informed."

"Tsk." She had to admit it. Miyuki had a point. She was the only one who knew anything about the girl they were chasing after.

Tilting her head back she began to think. _A cat Youkai with two tails. Damn, I can't remember._

Kagami shook her head. "Sorry, I can't remember." The truth was she couldn't think clearly at the moment, but decided it was better not to tell them that.

"By the way." Kagami turned to look at her blue-haired friend questioningly. "What is a Youkai exactly?"

_You're just asking this now?_

Miyuki fiddled with her glasses as she explained, "Youkai is a term we use to refer to most supernatural and spiritual monsters in Japanese Folklore. Youkai can be either malevolent, mischievous, or can bring good fortune. And encompass many creatures such as the Tengu and Kappa, as well as many inanimate objects, like the Karakasa. The girl we met before is most likely a Nekomata, or fork-tailed cat. They supposedly have power over the dead and are said to be rather powerful."

Finishing her explanation, she looked up to Kagami to see if anything had come back to her. A shake of her head was her only answer.

"O~kay. So then. What type of game is Touhou?"

"It's a shooter." Seeing her friend asking for more information, she clarified. "I think it's called a 'danmaku' game." Konata paled.

"What's wrong Konata-san?"

Konata looked between her two friends. "If a shooter is a danmaku game, that usually means it's a bullet hell game. You know, lots of bullets that you have to dodge through while shooting at the boss."

_Right. I forgot about that. That means… _"We're basically going to be carpet bombed." Now it was Miyuki's turn to pale.

The three girls sat quietly, the only noise being the cat's occasional screech. She was still close by.

"We should keep going." Kagami gripped her lance and headed to the door. "We may be able to find this door she's looking for first. And besides, if she won't die, we just beat her up until she takes us to Tsukasa."

Miyuki let out a forced laugh while Konata simply nodded. The two stood up and brushed themselves off.

"It's here!"

The girl yelled from two rooms over. Without another word the three ran after the voice.

* * *

Bright light filled her vision as she ran into the room. Blinking her eyes, Konata saw white. The room was pure white from top to bottom and seemed to stretch on forever. The only color in the room was the catgirl jumping around infront of a pair of impossibly large and beautiful doors.

The doors themselves looked like they were made of stained glass. The sight looked so familiar to her, yet she couldn't figure out what they reminded her of.

In the middle of her dancing, the cat finally took notice of the three girls that had entered the room.

"Ah. You found me. Wow, talk about lucky." The girl clapped her hands as though she was pleased with herself. "I found the door and you three. Yukari-sama will be so~ happy."

She stopped and tilted her head towards the ceiling. "But Yukari-sama said we're going to have to use the spell card rules again." The catgirl tilted her head back and forth as she muttered to herself.

"So," her expression changed into that of a cat that just found a mouse to play with. "Why don't I practice with you? I've never done this before so I might mess up."

The girl in red jumped into the air. In an instant the space behind her filled with orbs of light.

"Let's play."


End file.
